Vanish and Reappear
by cleotheo
Summary: Vanish - With no-one approving of their relationship, Draco and Hermione decide to vanish from their friends and families lives. Reappear - Several years after disappearing Draco and Hermione return and give their parents one last chance to accept their relationship. Two One Shots, Vanish is the first part and Reappear is the sequel.
1. Vanish

**A/N – This is two one shots that I wrote together. Originally Vanish was meant to stand alone but when my amazing story ideas woman read it she demanded a follow up, so Reappear was born. Instead of posting them as separate one shots I've decided to post them both together. ****Reappear, will be posted later this week. Enjoy!**

* * *

When Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger announced they were in a relationship they never expected an easy time of it. They both knew their friends and family would be judgemental and disapproving but neither had expected that three years later they would still face such disapproval. Even people who didn't personally know the couple had something to say on the matter and to Draco and Hermione it seemed like the whole world was against them. It was the oppression they felt that drove the couple to make the most drastic decision of their lives one rainy autumn night.

**…..**

Hermione and Draco's romance first became possible a few short months after the war. Hermione had chosen to return to Hogwarts to complete her education, while Draco was forced to retake his final year as part of his probation for his small part in the war. While a trial had resulted in Draco being found innocent of any major crimes and they accepted the crimes he did commit were under duress it was still felt that the young Slytherin had to prove himself to have truly changed, and part of that proof meant returning to Hogwarts and retaking his final year.

On the first day of term, Draco had sought Hermione out and apologised for his past behaviour. Hermione hadn't been sure if he had been told by someone to apologise or if he was doing it off his own steam but either way she graciously accepted the apology. After that incident, Hermione hadn't really expected to have any more interaction with Draco but for some reason she found herself watching him and she soon discovered he was a very different boy to the one she had known previously.

The Draco Malfoy, Hermione remembered was cocky and confident and he was always surrounded by a group of Slytherins that hung on his every word. The new Draco was extremely withdrawn, he only ever spoke when someone spoke to him first and as far as Hermione could see he was always alone. None of the other Slytherins in their year had returned but the rest of the house seemed to ignore the blond boy, who had once being dubbed the Slytherin Prince. The other three houses didn't treat him much better and it soon became obvious to Hermione that he was unwanted at the school and the students weren't shy in letting him know.

Hermione would honestly admit that the first time she approached Draco and spoke to him, it was prompted by the fact she felt sorry for him. Hermione had watched for weeks as he was either ignored or insulted so when she spotted him sitting alone in the library she asked if she could join him. Draco had looked at her as though she was mad for a minute or two before offering her the seat opposite him. He'd also warned her that it wouldn't do her reputation any good to be seeing with him but she had shrugged his worries off and began her homework.

As it turned out Draco had been right and the following day, Hermione caught several people giving her scathing looks. Hermione had ignored the looks and carried on with her day, until Ginny Weasley had cornered her at lunchtime and demanded to know what was going on. It wasn't until Ginny started ranting about Death Eater scum that Hermione realised just how the deep the hatred for Draco really ran. Hermione, however, refused to believe that Draco was the evil person people liked to paint him as and she told Ginny in no uncertain terms that she could be friends with who she liked and it was no-one's business but hers.

After that, Hermione always sat with Draco in the library, and the pair of them ignored the mutterings and stares that surrounded them. At first the pair just shared a table in silence but gradually they began talking about their homework assignments and even worked on a couple of hard essays together. Eventually little snippets of conversations that had nothing to do with homework filtered into their meetings and by Christmas time a tentative friendship had been born.

Over Christmas Hermione split her time between her parents, who had just returned from Australia, and The Burrow. Hermione soon regretted agreeing to spend time at The Burrow as it was obvious upon her arrival that Ginny had spread the news of her friendship with Draco. Throughout her stay, Hermione had been bombarded with Harry and the Weasley's constantly telling her not to get involved with the blond Slytherin. By the time she returned to Hogwarts she had participated in several vicious arguments with Harry and Ron and was barely speaking to Ginny.

Returning to Hogwarts meant returning to Draco and the pair easily slipped back into the regular routine of spending almost every night in the library. Just as it had been before Christmas, their friendship continued to grow and with each passing day Hermione was learning more about Draco. She also found she was telling him things she had never told anyone else, not even Harry and Ron.

By the time the Easter holidays rolled round, Hermione was more than happy to stay at Hogwarts with Draco. She hadn't received an invitation to go to The Burrow, and while in all likelihood she would have refused anyway, the snub still hurt her feelings. Hermione's hurt feelings were totally forgotten about a few days into the holidays when Draco impulsively kissed her, triggering the beginning of their romantic relationship.

After the Easter holidays their budding romance was put on hold as they both considered their exams top priority. The pair put in extra-long hours at the library as they constantly studied and gave each other little tests. It wasn't until after their final exam that they really had a chance to talk about what was going on between them. Up until this point they had kept their romantic feelings hidden from people as their friendship had caused enough of a stir.

After a long and frank discussion Hermione and Draco decided that they had a potentially strong and lasting relationship. They also both decided that if their relationship was to work that they needed to be honest with people. They had no intention of sneaking around as though they were doing something wrong, as they weren't. Hermione and Draco weren't naïve enough to think people would accept them straight away, their friendship had proved that wasn't going to happen, but they were hoping that if they explained things to their friends and family that they would come round. They were still hopeful that would be the case as they completed their final weeks of school and headed out into the world, but that illusion was shattered within a few weeks.

Before telling people about their relationship Hermione and Draco bought a modest flat in London. While they both knew it was pretty early in their relationship to be living together they decided if they had to face their hostile friends and family that it would be easier if they were together. They were also both slightly worried that if they were apart for too long that their friends and family might find a way to split them up.

While they settled into their flat, Hermione and Draco also got their jobs organised. Hermione took a job at the Ministry of Magic, in the Department of International Co-operation, while Draco took over his father's business interests. While Lucius had managed to avoid being sent to Azkaban after the war, he was placed under several strict conditions regarding his movements and magic and it just wasn't practical for him to run the family business successfully.

Just over a week after leaving Hogwarts, Hermione and Draco were ready to face their friends and family. They decided to begin with their parents so they arranged for Draco's parents to visit one night and Hermione's parents to visit the next. Hermione and Draco were both hoping that if they had their parents onside it would make telling their friends easier.

Unfortunately Lucius and Narcissa's visit was a total disaster. Draco had told Hermione that Lucius would likely by the one that was less pleased with their relationship but he had been confident that Narcissa would come round once she saw he was happy. As expected, Lucius made his displeasure clear and spent the night making snide comments. Narcissa wasn't as blatantly disapproving as Lucius, but she made it perfectly clear she thought Hermione wasn't good enough for Draco and that he was just slumming it with her.

Dinner with Hermione's parents wasn't much more successful as they made their dislike of Draco plain from the off. Over the course of the evening it became clear her parents had been speaking with the Weasley's, and their opinions on Draco and his family had influenced the Granger's. By the time Hermione's parents left they had made it clear that they didn't approve of Hermione being with Draco and they considered him unworthy of dating their daughter.

After the bad reception from their parents, Draco and Hermione decided to tell their friends about their relationship separately. Draco arranged to go for a drink with his friends while Hermione visited The Burrow. Both meetings went badly with both sets of friends trying to persuade Draco and Hermione they were making a mistake. The only person not to make a fuss was George Weasley, who declared that it was up to Hermione and Draco how they lived their life.

Despite the initial bad reaction to their relationship, Draco and Hermione tried to stay positive and they kept hoping that when everyone saw they were serious they would come around. Unfortunately it never happened and over the course of the following three years their friends and family continued to make digs at their relationship and constantly tried to encourage the couple to split.

There were plenty of times that Hermione and Draco wondered why their friends and family didn't just walk away from them. Being abandoned by the people they loved would have hurt, but their actions and constant sniping was proving more hurtful in the long run. Eventually Hermione and Draco came to the conclusion their friends and family stuck around because they didn't want to lose them, they just wanted to end their relationship.

For three years the couple had held strong against their friends and family, refusing to give them what they wanted and walk away from each other. Draco seemed to cope with the pressure better than Hermione and at times it would seem the blond wasn't the slightest bit affected by the hostile reception they received from people. Hermione, however, found it much more difficult to live in such conditions and gradually her resolve was beginning to weaken. The last thing Hermione wanted was to lose Draco, but it was getting to the point she couldn't cope with the constant aggravation their relationship was causing.

The final straw for Hermione came a little over three years after leaving school. By this point Hermione had enough experience at work to apply for a promotion and she was pretty confident the job should be hers. Out of everyone who applied she had the most experience, was by far the most qualified person for the job and the interview had went great. However on the day the promotion was announced, the job went to a colleague who had only been working in the department for two months and was nowhere near as good at his job as Hermione was at hers. Later that day, Hermione overheard her boss telling the Head of another Department that while she was the best person for the job, her boyfriend wasn't suitable and wouldn't be welcome at the Ministry functions she would be expected to attend. The conversation had brought home to Hermione just how much she and Draco had to fight to be accepted and she couldn't help but dwell on the constant battles they were fighting with their friends and family.

**…..**

That night Hermione went home in tears and she was still curled up on the sofa, crying her heart out, when Draco arrived home from work. The second Draco saw Hermione, he threw down his jacket and briefcase and rushed over to his girlfriend.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Draco asked, pulling Hermione into his arms.

"I can't do it anymore." Hermione sobbed, clinging tightly onto Draco.

"Do what?" Draco asked, soothingly stroking Hermione's curls.

"Everything." Hermione lifted her head and looked up at Draco through tear filled eyes. "I'm tired, Draco. I don't want to keep fighting everyone."

"Is this your way of leaving me?" Draco asked, pain evident in his silvery grey eyes.

"No, I'm not leaving you." Hermione insisted. "I love you more than anything and I don't want to lose you. But I don't think I can carry on like we have been."

"Maybe it's time we cut our losses." Draco suggested.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, wiping at her remaining tears that were staining her cheeks.

"It's been three years and no-one had accepted us, maybe it's time we realised they're not ever going to do so and leave."

"Leave?" Hermione looked at Draco in surprise. "What do you mean leave?"

"I mean we vanish." Draco said. The idea had been playing around in his head for weeks and he was just waiting for a good time to raise the idea with Hermione. "We leave here and never look back. We don't tell anyone where we're going or anything, we just go."

"Can we really do that?" Hermione asked, biting her lip. "Shouldn't we at least let people know we're safe?"

"You mean the same people who have made our lives a living hell for the past three years?" Draco scoffed. "I don't think we should tell them anything, after the way we've been treated by them I'm not sure they deserve that courtesy."

"How can we leave without a word?" Hermione asked. "It's impossible to just pack up and disappear without being noticed."

"No, it's not." Draco shook his head. "We're due to go on holiday in just over a month, we leave then. By the time anyone realises we're gone, it's too late."

"I don't know, it seems a bit drastic." Hermione sighed.

"What's the alternative?" Draco asked. "If we stay here, things will continue on just the same. And we both know that if that happens they'll eventually get what they want and they'll destroy us. We've lasted three years but it's getting harder and harder to fight. Eventually, no matter how much we love each other, we'll run out of fight."

"I know." Hermione sighed, leaning her head against Draco who immediately wrapped his arm around her.

"We don't have to decide right away. We can talk about it as much as you want." Draco said, holding his girlfriend tight. He wasn't planning on forcing her to run away with him but he was going to push for it as much as he could, by this point it was the only way he saw their relationship surviving.

"We will." Hermione whispered. Running away went against everything they had ever said about being open and honest with their relationship but if it was the only way to make sure it survived then Hermione was more than willingly to discuss the idea further.

* * *

**Six weeks later.**

"They're gone." Harry Potter announced. "There isn't one personal item in the flat."

Harry, along with the Weasley's, Malfoy's, Granger's and Draco's friends were standing in the flat belonging to Draco and Hermione. Technically the flat used to belong to Draco and Hermione, the estate agent who had let them inside had just informed them that the property and all its contents had just been sold. The group had assembled at the flat to search for any more clues as to where the couple had vanished to, unfortunately they were just as clueless as when they had arrived.

The first sign that something was wrong with Draco and Hermione had appeared the previous week, the day the pair were due to return to work after their holiday. Over breakfast that day Lucius had received an owl, delivering him a contract that signed the family business back over to him. That same day, Hermione's boss had received an owl containing Hermione's immediate resignation.

Lucius had stormed round to the flat to confront Draco and when he arrived he found Harry and Ron arriving to speak to Hermione. It was then the trio discovered the flat was up for sale and a bit of asking around revealed that no-one had seen the couple since before they went off on holiday, if they did indeed go on holiday.

All week Lucius had used his contacts to search for Draco, while Harry and Ron had used their Auror positions to do the same with Hermione. So far they were drawing a complete back, all they had found out was that the flat had gone on sale the day they supposedly left on holiday and their bank account had been emptied that day as well. Lucius had traced the money to an account in Switzerland but from there the trail went dead and even his less reputable contacts couldn't determine where the money went from there. Searching the flat had been a last ditch attempt to find anything, not that anyone had really held out much hope of finding a clue to the couple's whereabouts.

"What happens now?" Narcissa Malfoy asked. "Do we list them as missing people, or what?"

"We can't list them as missing as we have no evidence of foul play." Harry replied. "Basically it look like they chose to leave."

"Hermione would never leave without saying goodbye." Hermione's mother, Grace declared as she clung to her husband, Jerry.

"Open your eyes people, she just did." George Weasley said, shaking his head at the assembled group. "And honestly do you blame them for leaving, if I was in their position I would have walked away from you lot years ago."

"George, don't be so mean." Molly Weasley scolded her son.

"I'm not being mean, I'm being truthful." George said. "Someone has to tell you lot the truth about your behaviour."

"And what is the truth?" Lucius Malfoy asked with a sneer.

"The truth is, you lot have treated Hermione and Draco terribly and it's really no surprise they've left." George announced. "All you had to do was to stop being so stubborn and give them a chance to show you how happy they were together. The whole lot of you were so blind that you couldn't see how in love they were and now you've lost them, possibly for good. All of you should go home and think about the way you treated them, maybe if you had just given them a chance then they would still be here. Instead they're gone and you might never see them again."

George looked around the stunned group, pleased his words look to have at least registered with them. Knowing there was nothing else to say, he turned and left the flat. Everyone watched George leaving, his words resounding in their ears. None of them were ready to face the reality of his words as they went their separate ways.

It was only as the weeks turned into months and there was still no word from either Hermione or Draco that people finally started to realise that maybe George had been right. If only people had given them a chance maybe they would still be around and maybe two sets of parents wouldn't have to wonder every day about whether or not their children were alive and well.

**To be continued.**


	2. Reappear

The cries of a young baby filtered through the flat, waking the couple in the large bed. The woman quickly jumped out of bed and left to see to the baby while the man remained settled in the bed. After a few minutes the crying stopped and Draco Malfoy lay waiting for his wife, Hermione, to come back to bed.

When Hermione still hadn't returned to bed ten minutes later, Draco pushed back the covers and climbed out of bed. Quietly he made his way across the landing and peered into the nursery. His eyes quickly landed on Hermione, who was sitting in the rocking chair beside the window cradling their six week old baby girl, Carina. Carina was fast asleep in her mother's arms, while Hermione looked lost in thought.

"I think she's asleep now." Draco whispered, walking over to where Hermione and Carina were sitting. "Why don't we settle her back down and you can come back to bed."

"Okay." Hermione said, handing her daughter over to her husband.

Draco settled Carina back into her cot, before grabbing hold of Hermione's hand and leading her back to their bedroom. Once they were in bed, Draco propped himself up against the headboard and pulled Hermione into his arms.

"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" He asked, running his fingers through her curls.

"Nothing's wrong." Hermione answered, making sure to keep her head down so Draco couldn't tell she was lying.

"I'm not stupid, Hermione. I know something's bothering you." Draco sighed, wishing his wife would open up to him. For the last few months she had been withdrawn and distracted, but he had no idea what was actually wrong with her.

"It's nothing, I'm fine." Hermione replied.

"You're really not." Draco replied sadly. "I just wish you'd talk to me."

Hermione was silent a few minutes as she contemplated telling Draco what was on her mind. She knew Draco would listen to her worries but she was unsure if he would agree with the idea that was starting to form in her head. Deciding it was time to be honest with her husband, she admitted what had been bothering her lately.

"I miss my parents. Having Carina has just made me think about home."

It had been six years since Hermione and Draco had vanished from their old lives back in London. Instead of heading to Italy, which was where they had been due to go on holiday, the couple had headed to Belize where they decided on their next move. Eventually the couple had settled in New York and the only person from their old life they ever had any contact with was George Weasley.

George had been the only person in their lives who hadn't created problems with the idea of them being together and at times he had been a great comfort to the pair. The couple had gotten in touch with George a few months after leaving London and they swore him to secrecy before revealing where they were now living. For the last six years the couple had been in regular contact with George and he had been their only guest at their intimate wedding that had taken place four and a half years ago.

"What are you thinking about?" Draco asked. "Do you want to go home?"

"I don't know what I want." Hermione sighed as she sat up so she could speak to Draco properly. Now they had started the discussion she saw no reason not to have a proper conversation.

"We can do whatever you want. Just don't forget that things might not have changed in our absence." Draco warned, not wanting Hermione to get her hopes up of a reconciliation with everyone.

"I know, but I just keep thinking about our parents. We're both only children and Carina is our parents first grandchild and I hate to think she might not get to know them." Hermione explained, trying to convey to Draco the thoughts that had been running through her head for the last few months. "I just keep thinking what would happen if that was us, if Carina walked away and we never saw her again and never knew her children."

"First of all we would never do anything that would make Carina leave us without a word." Draco stated.

"I know that. But now we're parents ourselves it just gives things a different perspective, don't you think?"

Draco nodded, understanding exactly what his wife meant. If he was being honest he had been thinking about his parents and home a lot more since Hermione had gotten pregnant. And the day Carina had been born, Draco had desperately wanted to speak to his mother and tell her she was a grandmother.

"I think we should seriously consider giving our parents another chance." Hermione said. She knew that Draco missed his parents, especially his mother, a lot more than he let on so she was hopeful he would agree to at least speaking with their parents. "I don't want Carina growing up without them unless it's absolutely necessary."

"It would be nice if she knew them." Draco conceded. "But before they find out about Carina, they need to have accepted us. I'm not letting them near my daughter if they still have a problem with our relationship."

"Maybe we can arrange a visit to London and talk to our parents." Hermione suggested. "If they still won't accept us then we can come back home and never bother them again. We don't even need to mention Carina until we know if we're keeping in touch."

"What about the Weasley's and the rest of our friends?" Draco asked. "Will we be getting in touch with them as well?"

"We'll deal with our parents first." Hermione said. "After we know where we stand with them, we can deal with other people then."

"If things go well with our parents, will you want to go home?" Draco questioned. While on a whole he was perfectly settled in America there had been times recently he had thought about suggesting they returned home, he quite liked the idea of raising Carina in England and of course he would love it if she was to go to Hogwarts.

"Maybe." Hermione bit her lip nervously, not sure if she should admit just how much she would love to return home. "Would you want to go home?"

"My home is with you and Carina. Wherever you two are, is home." Draco responded with a smile. "If you want to go back home to England, then that's what we'll do."

"What about the business?" Hermione asked. Since moving to America, Draco and Hermione had set up a small potions company. They had made sure their names weren't in any way associated with the business as they didn't want anyone to find them.

"We can either hire someone to run it or relocate the headquarters to England." Draco shrugged, not particularly worried about the business. He knew no matter which option they decided upon the business would be absolutely fine, pretending it wouldn't be would just be an excuse to avoid returning home.

"Can we discuss this some more in the morning?" Hermione said, stifling a yawn. "I'm really tired."

"Sure we can, sweetheart." Draco said, scooting down in the bed and pulling Hermione back into his arms.

Within minutes the couple had drifted off to sleep, both of them thinking about the reunions with their parents that would be taking place sometime in the near future.

* * *

Draco fussed over Carina, making sure she was wrapped up snugly, as he tried to delay leaving his wife and daughter so he could pay a visit to his parents. Hermione watched Draco for a few minutes, before she stepped in and took Carina out of her husband's arms.

"We don't have to do this, if you don't want to." She said.

It was nearly a month after their talk about visiting their parents and Hermione, Draco and Carina were booked into a muggle hotel in London for two weeks. The only person who knew they were in the country was George and he was due to visit the couple and meet Carina for the first time in a couple of days.

"I do want to, I'm just nervous." Draco admitted. He was now really looking forward to seeing his parents again, but he was also worried that they would still be holding onto their grudge about his relationship with Hermione.

"I know, so am I." Hermione said. "I can't guarantee everything will run smoothly this afternoon, but Carina and I will be here when you get back and we're not going anywhere."

Draco smiled at his wife as he pulled her into his arms, making sure not to squash Carina in between them. He leant down and gave Hermione a quick kiss and placed a kiss on Carina's head before letting go of his family and reaching for his jacket.

"What are you going to do this afternoon?" Draco asked, as Hermione placed their daughter into her pram and grabbed her own jacket.

"We're just going to have a look around the shops." Hermione replied.

Together Draco and Hermione left the hotel, before parting outside and heading in different directions. Hermione and Carina headed towards the nearby shopping centre while Draco ducked into a quiet corner to apparate to Malfoy Manor.

When Draco arrived at the gates of his childhood home, he stood and looked up at the imposing house for some times before entering the property. Because he was a Malfoy, Draco was able to pass by the boundary wards easy enough and he knew his presence wouldn't trigger any alarms inside the house. After a short walk, Draco found himself standing on the doorstep of the Manor. Before he lost his nerve, Draco rapped on the door and waited for someone to answer.

Draco only had to wait a few minutes before the door opened and he found himself face to face with his mother. Narcissa gasped loudly at the sight of Draco and she hesitantly reached out to touch him, almost as if she didn't believe her eyes.

"Draco." Narcissa whispered, pulling her son into a hug once she had established he was really standing in front of her. "Where have you been? I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too." Draco replied, holding onto his mother tightly.

After a few minutes Narcissa pulled back and Draco could see the tears glistening in her eyes. "Come inside." She said, ushering him into the hallway and shutting the door behind him. "Let's go and have some tea, we need to catch up."

As Narcissa led Draco into the front room she called for one of the house elves and asked him to bring them some tea, she also asked the elf to find Lucius and tell him he was wanted. As Draco and Narcissa settled onto the sofa in the front room, Draco could sense his mother holding back from bombarding him with questions. He was sure that by the time he left his mother would have questioned him extensively, but it looked like she was going to try and not ask everything at once.

After a few minutes of small talk between mother and son, Lucius strode into the room. Lucius was in the middle of asking Narcissa what she wanted when he spotted Draco and he stopped mid-sentence.

"Draco." Lucius looked at his son disbelievingly, almost as if he thought he was seeing things.

"Hello, father." Draco greeted, nodding at Lucius.

"I need a drink." Lucius muttered.

"I've arranged for tea." Narcissa said and almost on cue a house elf appeared and placed a tray of tea and biscuits on the coffee table.

"I need something stronger." Lucius said, striding over to the drinks cabinet in the corner of the room and pouring himself a large measure of firewhisky. After downing the liquid, Lucius settled himself in a chair opposite Draco and Narcissa. "So, what have we done to be rewarded with your presence?" He asked his son. "You've ignored us for six years, so I'm assuming you want something."

"Lucius, don't be so rude." Narcissa scolded her husband, shooting him a frosty glare.

"It's all right mother, I'm used to it." Draco sighed, realising that it seemed like his father hadn't changed at all. "And just for the record, I don't want anything from you. That's not why I'm here."

"Then why are you here?" Lucius asked.

"We just thought it was time to get back in touch with people." Draco shrugged, not wanting to reveal the real reason for getting back in touch until he was sure his parents were going to accept Hermione as his wife. "We were hoping our absence would have lessened the hostile behaviour."

"I take it from your continued use of the word we, that you're still with the Granger girl." Lucius sniffed, sounding unimpressed.

"Yes, I'm still with Hermione." Draco replied. "Although she's not Granger anymore, she's a Malfoy."

"You're married." Narcissa gasped, tears forming in her eyes as she realised she had missed her only son's wedding.

"Yeah, we've been married for nearly five years now." Draco replied, watching his parents carefully for their reactions.

Narcissa seemed visibly upset at the news, although Draco wasn't sure if she disapproved of his marriage or if she was just upset that she had missed the event. Lucius meanwhile was just sitting there looking unreadable, Draco sensed his father wanted to make a derogatory remark about his marriage but he remained silent.

"Are you coming back for good?" Narcissa asked after she had composed herself. While she may have been upset to miss Draco's wedding she knew deep down that her and Lucius only had themselves to blame, if they had been more supportive of Draco in the first place he might not have felt he needed to leave the way he did.

"That all depends." Draco answered. "We're thinking about it, but if we do return things have to be different from last time. If you can't learn to accept Hermione and treat her in a civil manner then this will be the last time you see me. If you are willing to change, however, we can begin to re-establish a relationship."

"We can do that." Narcissa stated eagerly. Now Draco was back she had no intention of letting him go again without a fight. "Can't we Lucius?"

Draco turned his attention to his father, wanting to see if he was going to be a problem. Ever since he arrived at the Manor, Draco had been confident his mother had changed and that his absence had affected her deeply, but he was still unsure about Lucius. Lucius was incredibly hard to read and Draco had no idea whether his father could ignore how he had been raised and welcome a muggleborn into the family.

"Yes, I think we can." Lucius replied eventually. "I'm not going to lie to you Draco, I'm not happy with the wife you've chosen, but it's done now. I'm also not going to tell you everything will be nice and friendly between us all immediately, because it won't be. But you've been missing from our lives for six years and that space has given me some perspective on things. I would rather have you in our lives, married to a muggleborn, than not have you in our lives at all."

Draco looked at his father for a long time, surprised by the older wizard's honesty. He wasn't sure if Lucius could accept his conditions but after his father's words he was confident that he would try his best. Draco wasn't naïve enough to believe there wouldn't be any problems between his father and wife, but he was hopeful that at least some sort of relationship was manageable between the two.

"Does this mean you're coming home?" Narcissa asked expectantly.

"I need to speak to Hermione, but I think so." Draco smiled. "Of course it won't be straight away, we do have a life elsewhere to think about."

"How long are you here for?" Lucius questioned. "Will we see you again?"

"Actually I was hoping you would like to see us over the weekend. We have someone you might like to meet with us." Draco answered.

Draco and Hermione had already spoken about how to deal with the subject of Carina and they agreed that if their parents were reasonable they would tell them about their daughter and invite them to meet her at the weekend.

"Are you telling us we have a grandchild?" Narcissa asked, sounding hopeful that she had interpreted Draco's words correctly.

Draco smiled and pulled a picture of Carina out of his pocket before handing it to his mother. "She's ten weeks old, her name's Carina." He explained.

"She's the reason you're here, isn't she?" Lucius asked as he moved to see the picture of his granddaughter.

"Yes, Carina prompted out decision." Draco admitted. "We want her to know her grandparents, and we're hoping they want to know her."

"Of course we do." Narcissa sniffed, wiping at a few tears that were falling as she stroked the picture of the baby girl. "She's so beautiful."

Draco smiled at his parents as they gushed over the picture of his daughter. As he told his parents all about their granddaughter, he hoped that Hermione's meeting with her parents went as well. While he was pleased that Carina would definitely have his parents in her life, he knew that it would be perfect if she also had Hermione's parents as well.

* * *

Hermione stood opposite her parent's house, trying to pluck up the courage to go and speak to them. Hermione had been thrilled the previous day when Draco returned from seeing his parents and he announced they had promised to behave and were sorry for what had happened. Hermione knew things weren't always going to be easy with Draco's parents, even Draco admitted that, but she was now left with worrying about her own family. As much as Hermione wanted to say her parents would be fine and she would end up with the same result as Draco, she just wasn't sure if that would happen.

After hanging around on the street for nearly ten minutes, Hermione finally found the courage to go and knock on her parent's front door. After she knocked, Hermione had to fight the urge to flee but she remained where she was and the door was soon opened to reveal her father standing there.

"Hermione, is that really you?" Jerry Granger, Hermione's father, asked upon setting eyes on his daughter for the first time in six years.

"Hello, dad." Hermione smiled hesitantly at her father.

"It's so good to see you." Jerry declared, pulling Hermione into his arms. "We've missed you so much and we're so sorry for what happened. We never should have been so harsh on you."

Hermione hugged her father for a long time before pulling away. His immediate apology and admission made her confident that the visit would go pretty smoothly. Hermione had been worried that her parents would be angry for the way she left, but so far that wasn't looking like it was going to happen.

"Come in, your mother will be thrilled to see you." Jerry said, pulling his daughter into the house and helping her remove her jacket.

Hermione's father then led her into the front room, where Hermione had an emotional reunion with her mother, Grace. While the two women cried and caught up, Hermione's father went to make some tea. By the time he returned Hermione and Grace were sitting on the sofa and Hermione's mother was admiring her engagement and wedding rings.

"How long have you been married?" Jerry asked, placing the tea on the coffee table.

"Nearly five years." Hermione replied. "It's our fifth anniversary in a couple of months."

"I wish we could have been there." Grace sighed.

"So do I." Hermione admitted sadly. Not having her parents at her wedding had been tough on Hermione and she often wished they had been there to witness her happiness.

"We're really sorry, Hermione." Grace said, holding onto Hermione's hand. "We should have listened to what you wanted and judged Draco for ourselves."

"Yeah, we shouldn't have just taken what Molly and Arthur said as gospel." Jerry sighed. "Maybe then you two wouldn't have felt the need to leave."

"Is there any way we can make it up to you?" Grace asked her daughter.

"Actually there is." Hermione smiled, pleased the meeting was running so smoothly. "Draco and I are thinking of returning home, and we would love to have you both in our lives. Of course you would have to give Draco a chance and accept we're happy together."

"We should have done that in the first place." Jerry admitted.

"Really?" Hermione asked.

"Really." Grace nodded, agreeing with her husband. "We lost you once and we don't want it happening again. We will do whatever you want."

"What I want is to have my parents back in my life." Hermione said. "And for my daughter to know her grandparents."

"Daughter?" Grace gasped. "We have a granddaughter."

"Yes, her name's Carina." Hermione explained as she pulled a photo of her daughter out of her handbag and handed it to her parents.

Like Draco had with his parents, Hermione spent the rest of the visit talking about their daughter. By the time she left a few hours later, they had arranged to meet up over the weekend so Grace and Jerry could meet their baby granddaughter.

* * *

The two meetings between Hermione and Draco's parents and Carina went fairly smoothly. While it was clear that things wouldn't always be plain sailing between the adults, especially Lucius who was clearly still uncomfortable around Hermione, it was obvious that Carina was gaining four grandparents who would love and spoil her.

With the meetings running smoothly, Draco and Hermione began planning their move back home. The couple took the move slow, so they could make sure everything ran smoothly, and within four months of reconnecting with their parents they were settling back down in England.

Apart from their parents and George, who was a massive help with the move, the couple told no-one of their return. They didn't hide their return though, and within weeks word started to spread about their return. Over their first few months back in England, Draco and Hermione received several visits from their old friends. Harry and Ron were the first to visit, closely followed by the rest of the Weasley's and Draco's friends. Almost everyone apologised for their past behaviour, even if it was obvious a few people still objected to their union. Hermione and Draco accepted every apology and agreed to try and rebuild some of the friendships that had been destroyed six years earlier.

Things were never quite the same between Hermione and Draco and their friends, but everyone involved tried their best to be civil to one another and to get along. Things could also get a bit frosty with the Malfoy's and Granger's, but on a whole the two families learnt to get along.

Despite things sometimes being difficult, Draco and Hermione were ultimately pleased they had returned home. The main reason they returned home was Carina, and their return to England had given their daughter two sets of grandparents, who doted on her and treated her like a little princess. Their return also meant Carina would attend Hogwarts when she was older and George was already running a betting pool into which house the young Malfoy would end up in.

**The End.**


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